1. Technical Field
This invention relates to a binder clip for clamping together sheets of paper or the like.
2. Background Information
A typical binder clip comprises a clamping member having first and second jaws interconnected by a transverse portion. Each jaw provides a face extending laterally between a pair of side edges, and extending from a first end at the connection to the transverse portion to a second, free end remote from the transverse portion. The first and second jaws converge from the transverse portion to free ends and there is a clamping force so that items positioned between the free ends of the jaws can be clamped. A handle is provided for each jaw. Each handle comprises a member which has been bent to provide a pair of spaced legs which are connected to a gripping part. Adjacent the free end of each jaw, between the side edges, are provided two laterally directed tubular portions. Each leg terminates in a laterally directed end portion, which is received in a respective tubular portion. In this manner, each handle is mounted to its respective jaw for pivotal movement between a first position in which the legs extend over the face of the jaw to adjacent the transverse portion, and then beyond the transverse portion to the gripping part; and a second position in which the leg projects away from the jaw. When the handles are in their first positions, by squeezing together the first and second gripping parts of the respective handles, the free ends of the jaws are urged apart against a restoring force.
Typically, the clamping member is made from a single piece of material such as spring steel, and the restoring force comes from flexion where each jaw meets the transverse portion and/or flexion of the jaws and/or flexion of the transverse portion.
In a conventional binder clip, the legs extend across central regions of the faces of the jaws.
It has been proposed to attach a label to a binder clip, for example to identify documents which are retained by the binder clip, but the proposals for doing this have various drawbacks. In U.S. Pat. No. 7,730,593, a label is provided on the transverse portion of the clamping member, but this is inconvenient as the label cannot be seen when looking face on at the items held by the clip. In U.S. Design Pat. 321209, an item is attached to a handle but this has may be damaged or dislodged when the handles are squeezed together. Furthermore, the handles may pivot between the first and second positions, and a label attached to a handle would not be readable when in both of these positions if it was only on one side.
In U.S. Pat. No. 1,133,388, a label is attached to one of the jaws of a clip, but this is a different type of clip. When the same is attempted with a binder clip of the type described above, the result is as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 of US 2011/047761. The legs of the handle extend over the label when in the first position.
An alternative arrangement is disclosed in US 2005/060923, where a sleeve is mounted over the clip. This can display information on both jaws and the transverse portion, but the legs of the handle extend over the label when in the first position.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,533,236, there is disclosed an arrangement in which a portion of each handle leg extends over the face of its respective jaw to adjacent a side edge of the jaw, in the region of the free end of the jaw. The handle is mainly in the shape of a triangle, and the two laterally directed end portions are separated by only a small gap. This is to prevent handles getting tangled up during the manufacturing process.